"Didn't Shohei Ohtani get Joe Kelly's wife a Panamera?" "Aaron Judge punching air" - Fans react as Juan Soto gives Mets teammate expensive gift

Juan Soto wanted to continue wearing No. 22 with the New York Mets. He has only had that uniform number at all four spots in his big-league career. However, in the Mets, it was already worn by Brett Baty.

The two sides reached an agreement for Baty to change to No. 7 this season, something he said he was happy to do in honor of Jose Reyes and Joe Mauer.

Soto eventually surprised Baty with an expensive car, a Chevy Tahoe, to thank him for giving up the number. In the video, he said he's "really grateful" that Baty was so willing to change.

Fans reacted to Soto's gesture. Some complained that the slugger got a relatively cheap gift in comparison to the contract he just signed with the Mets, which was for an MLB-record $765 million.

Others compared the gift to that of Shohei Ohtani, who also made gifts to get the No. 17 from Joe Kelly when he joined the Los Angeles Dodgers. Some even poked fun at Aaron Judge, who is no longer Soto's teammate.

"Didn't Shohei Ohtani get Joe Kelly's wife a Panamera?" a fan asked.

"Aaron Judge punching air," a fan said.

Fans reacted to Juan Soto's gift for teammate Brett Baty's number (Instagram/Mets)

Soto joined the Mets after spurning the New York Yankees in free agency. After one year in the Bronx, he signed the largest contract in baseball history.

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Aaron Judge responds to Juan Soto's comments

When asked why he opted to go with the New York Mets instead of the incumbent New York Yankees, Juan Soto didn't say it was the money he was offered. The Yankees offered him a similar deal.

Aaron Judge responded to Juan Soto's comments (Imagn)

Instead, he said that he feels better about the team in Citi Field than in Yankee Stadium:

"I think we have the best chance to win here," he said (via Sporting News).

His former teammate Aaron Judge was then asked if he had a response, and he said:

"That’s his opinion. He can say what he wants. I definitely disagree with him."

The Yankees were in the World Series last year, and the Mets made it to the NLCS. Both teams fell to the Los Angeles Dodgers, though.